The marketing technique ‘positioning’ is possibly the most misunderstood and under-utilized technology in business. Many err in thinking that positioning simply means where you put your product physically and the pursuant ramifications. For example: selling your goods at a tourist area and increasing the price for convenience, or selling your products in normal venues and lowering prices due to competition. This is not positioning and has nothing to do with it. Some even think positioning is where you physically place your products on shelves or displays!
What is positioning
Pioneered by marketers Al Ries and Jack Trout in the 1970’s, positioning is the differentiation of your product from your competition, in the minds of your consumers. It is a battle in the mind of the consumer to differentiate your brand/company from the hundreds of competitors in the bloated market. It is how you show your company to be different from the rest, so that the consumer is more likely to make a connection with your brand, and have your brand represent something in his mind, and stay in his mind. Although formulated and codified over 40 years ago it has never been more relevant to business than it is today.
Examples
What do you think of when you consider Volvo? One word: Safety. When you think of Toyota what idea best describes their products? Reliability. Ferrari? Speed. Mercedes? Luxury. BMW? Driving. All these companies took a certain position and devoted all focus and efforts to that. By doing that they become memorable.
Don’t be Better… Be Different
You can’t be everything to everybody. A brand/company which does ‘everything’ is a blur in the consumer’s mind. There is no differentiation, its a generality. But a brand or company which focuses firmly on one aspect, is different and memorable. People don’t remember ‘everything’, they need something specific, unique. In business these days being different is much more usable/profitable than being ‘better’.
The Audience
It should be noted that in some cases when you take a certain position it changes what audience is then attracted to your company/brand. For instance if you had a massage therapy practice you could position your image & products as either ‘New Age / Holistic / Trendy’ or ‘Clinic-like / Scientific / Professional”. Each of those positions has its own audience and desired products/services. The wise company chooses a position and avoids being a blur in a sea of competitors.
How can I use positioning for my small business?
Positioning is most definitely not limited to huge international brands like Nike, Apple and Toyota. In fact it is CRITICAL that small businesses use positioning because in the minds of consumers small businesses usually have no strong identity or differentiation.
Stay tuned for next weeks article where we tell you how to put it to practice.
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